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Five-minute feature on acts of kindness by local or overseas based non-government individuals and organisations that have benefitted Jamaicans.
Written and produced by the Radio Department of the Jamaica Information Service
News for Week of April 24, 2022
We are here to inspire, motivate and uplift.
Gov’t thanks partners for confab support
Legacy partners have been lauded for their support of the biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference over the years, by State Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Leslie Campbell.
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Discussions on the plans and preparations for this year’s conference have been held with the partners – the GraceKennedy Group, the Jamaica National Group, the Victoria Mutual Group and J. Wray and Nephew Ltd. The chair of the vonference is GraceKennedy.
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The ninth staging of the biennial conference, to be convened by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, will take place from June 14 to 16, under the theme, ‘Reigniting a Nation for Greatness’.
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The event, which was rescheduled from 2021 due to the realities of the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on its stakeholders, has been positioned as a signature event to mark Jamaica 60 celebrations as an independent nation.
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Speaking at a stakeholder briefing, Senator Campbell expressed appreciation to Group Chief Executive Officer of GraceKennedy Limited, Senator Don Wehby, for his chairmanship of the conference.
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“We are also appreciative of the generosity and support of partners and sponsors who have been a part of our journey,” he said.
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Senator Campbell said that the conference provides an opportunity to showcase the best of Jamaica.
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He said that the main objective of the conference is to create and maintain strong links between Jamaica and its diaspora and to market Jamaica as a viable alternative for investment.
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Water improvement project for Portmore
Twenty thousand new state-of-the-art digital meters are to be installed in Portmore communities in as the Government seeks to improve service delivery and reduce losses from non-revenue water in the area.
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The meters will be implemented as part of the US$13-million Non-Revenue Water (NRW) reduction programme to reduce initial water losses from 60 per cent to 30 per cent in five years, plus ensure a steady supply of potable water.
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Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Senator Matthew Samuda noted that the meters are accurate “and should be embraced by the customers as the bridge between them and the National Water Commission”.
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He said that “this improved service delivery will benefit residents in various sections of the Portmore municipality, including areas such as Naggo Head, Portmore Lane, Reeds Pen, Old Braeton and Newlands.
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Senator Samuda noted that the programme will be even more crucial as the municipality achieves parish status, noting that Portmore will be the first parish where every resident will be connected to water systems and has potable water.
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“The Government of Jamaica recognizes the need for consistent and reliable water supply in Portmore, and the reduction of non-revenue water is part and parcel of the process that will facilitate economic and social development in the Municipality, while allowing the National Water Commission to utilize its production capacity savings to bring new customers online,” he said.
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Historical unemployment decline in Jamaica
Jamaica’s unemployment rate fell to a new record low of 6.2 per cent in January 2022.
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This, according to the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) Labour Force Survey for the month, is a 0.9 percentage point lower than the figure recorded in October 2021.
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It is also 2.6 percentage points below the out-turn for the January 2021 Survey, Director General, Carol Coy, has said. Ms. Coy informed that the male unemployment rate decreased from 7.6 per cent to 4.8 per cent, while the female equivalent declined by 2.5 percentage points to 7.9 per cent.
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She also advised that the youth unemployment rate fell by 5.1 percentage points to 17.7 per cent for the review period, relative to January 2021.
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The Director General pointed out that the male and female out-turns decreased by approximately five per cent, with the latter recording the larger decline. “Male youth unemployment was 14.5 per cent, while for the females, it was 21.8 per cent,” she said.
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Meanwhile, the overall number of individuals employed in January 2022 rose by 4.8 per cent or 57,800 persons to 1,257,100, compared to the corresponding period last year. Ms. Coy said females recorded the larger increase – 5.5 per cent – compared to 4.3 per cent for their male counterparts.
She indicated that the overall labour force climbed by 24,800 persons, or 1.9 per cent, to 1,340,600 in January. “There was a larger increase of females in the labour force. While the male labour force increased by 9,200 persons to 721,400, the female labour force increased by 15,600 persons to 619,200. The increase in females represented 62.9 per cent of the total increase,” Ms. Coy pointed out.
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Charles hails resilience of farmers
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Pearnel Charles Jr. has lauded the nation’s farmers for the resilience they have demonstrated despite the unprecedented obstacles brought on by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
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He said that the sector has been on a positive trajectory over the past two years, recording high levels of production. He added, “Despite the pandemic, despite the challenges, it was our farmers who showed the resilience, determination and the discipline, and they went out there, and for the last two years, the entire world, including Jamaica, was in trouble, but our farmers allowed us to have and record the highest level of production ever recorded in Jamaica last year.”
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He pointed out that the Ministry will continue to put programmes in place to boost the sector and stimulate further growth, adding: “Because of our farmers, because of the fisherfolk, we have seen double-digit increases in the Ministry of Agriculture, and we are going to continue to grow strong, because the Ministry, through RADA (Rural Agricultural Development Authority), AIC (Agro-Investment Corporation) and NIC (National Irrigation Commission), will be providing irrigation water.
“We’re going to be retooling and restructuring RADA, we’re going to be giving strength to the dairy industry, we’re going to continue our production incentive programme and we are going to ensure that we pump money, strength and support into our farmers.”
​Are the kids leaning right?
By Michael Bröning
NEW YORK – For decades, young people’s leftward leanings were considered an iron law of politics. “If people are not conservative at 40, they have no head,” Winston Churchill probably never said, “but if they are not liberal at 20, they have no heart.” From John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton, and Tony Blair to Barack Obama and Jacinda Ardern, the leading lights of the left have regularly built political careers on the promise of youthful progressivism.
This pattern is so culturally ingrained that it is largely taken for granted. But electoral outcomes in many Western democracies have begun to suggest a very different dynamic. In the first round of the French presidential elections this month, Emmanuel Macron achieved only a narrow victory (27.85%) over the right-wing populist Marine le Pen (23.15%). His success was based not so much on the fervor of the young as on the caution – and alarm – of older voters.
